Feeding apparatus.



J. I. CURLEY & W. J. PRICE.

FEEDING APPARATUS.

APPLIoATIoN FILED JAN. 21, 1913.

il.\\\\\m\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\i VTNESSES: [NI/ENTORS.

@www t@ '/ITTORNEY.

.THE MORRIS PlTrERs C0.. PHOTD-LITHO.. WAsHlNGmN. LLC

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J'CHN I. CURLEY AND WALTER J. PRICE, OF HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS. n

FEEDING ArPanA'rUs.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented N ov. 3, 1914.

T0 all lwhom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, JOHN I. CURLEY, a citizen ofy the United States of America, and VALTER J. PRICE, a subjectofy the King of Great Britain, both residing at Holyoke, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and luseful Improvements in Feeding Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an apparatus for use with machines for plating paper used in paper finishing. In such a machine, the essential elements are a pair of driven pressure-rolls between which a pile Yof paper and linen and zinc sheets, called a book, may pass.

The top pressure-roll' of the plating machine is usually mounted in verticallyemovable journals, while the bottom pressure-roll is mounted in stationary journals. A compound-leverage arrangement is connected with the movable journals in order to cause the pressure-rolls to exert a great pressure against the book as the same passes `between the two rolls. The direction yof rotation of the rolls is then reversed and the book is passed between the rolls in the opposite direction. A table is suitably positioned with relation tothe rolls in order to support the book in its longitudinal movement between the rolls. It is customary in many mills to feed the book back and forth through the pressure-rolls by reversing the direction of rotation of the rolls just before the book is about to leave 'the rolls, thus causing the books to return to the front end of the machine, where the operator stands. The operator then turns the book around and feeds it to the pressure-rolls with a difn ferent side of the book entering the bite of the rolls first. vThe objection to this method is that the enormous pressure which the rolls are exerting on the book will not be evenly distributed over the surface thereof and in addition the operation of reversing the rolls while the book is still held between the rolls is hard on the bearings, the belting, and the machine in general, causing it to wear out sooner than it otherwise would.

Applicants herein disclose an apparatus designed to automatically feed a book back to the pressure-rolls after it has been fed therethrough in one direction by the operator and after the direction of rotation of the rolls has been reversed by the operator. The apparatus is designed to receive the book at ,any angle at which the book may be fed through the rolls and to automatically square the book in order to feed it back to the rolls in the best positionthat is, with the front and rear edges of the book approximately parallel to the axes of the rolls.

The object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the class described having an improved structure. l

In the drawings,-Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus, which may be applied yto the usual machine for plating paper. Fig. 2 is a cross-section through portions of such a machine, indicating the manner in which the yimproved apparatus is mounted with relation to the book and the pressure-rolls.

Itis not thought necessary to show any more than the rolls and table of the machine to which the apparatus is attached. The rolls m (F ig. 2) receive the book 7 in the usual manner. The operator standing at the front of the machine, starts the rolls turning and then feeds the book to the rolls. Just before the book has completed its rearward travel, the edgethereof engages the cross-piece a and forces it back against the resistance of strong springsin a manner to be more specifically described. The crosspiece a is so mounted that it automatically squares against the advancing edge ofl the book r. After the book has passed completely through the rolls andthe operator has reversed their direction of rotation, the stored-up energy of the springs mentioned causes the cross-piece acto automatically force the book r into the bite of the rolls for the return travel to the operator.

The same mounting of the cross-piece` a, which causesitto square against the edge of the book as the *latter forces the cross-piece back causes thebook to turn so that its front and rear edges will be approximately parallel to the axes of the rolls in the return movement. rlhis mounting will now be described.

In Fig. la plan view of the invention is shown. The cross-piece a is connected near one end to the sliding-block j and near the other end to the similar block c by pivoted rods or crossed connecting pieces c and Z), respectively. ln a similar manner, the pivoted rods or crossedv connecting pieces (Z and c connect the ends of the fixed crosspiece to the blocks j and la, respectively. The blocks j and 7c slide freely on cross-rod t, except as their movements are influenced by the heavy steel springs z' and Z wound around the rod t, and bearing one against the end-nut g of rod t and block j and the other against end-nut h and block k. The action of these springs, as clearly indicated in F ig. l, is to force the blocks j and if: together and the cross-piece a away from fixed cross-piece From the description and drawings, it is seen that if fixed piece f is pinned firmly to the rear of the machine by pins Q and the redt is supported conveniently by being pinned to a plate c having casters to ride freely over the table of the machine, then cross-piece a, yieldingly connected as described, will operate to automatically feed the book back to the rolls as described.

The springs Z and z' are of equal strength and length, and the pivoted connecting pieces Z), c, eZ, and e are of equal length. lf the book starts to force cross-piece a back only at the right-hand end (Fig. l) the connecting pieces b and e will compress spring Z while spring z' will not start to be compressed until cross-piece a has automatically squared itself against the edge of the book, whereupon both springs will be compressed. As the book is being fed backto the rolls the spring Z, being compressed to a greater degree than spring z', will automatically square the edges of the book with relation to the rolls.

The crossed connecting pieces c, (Z, and c are conveniently made as follows: The piece c is made of two parallel strips between which the piece Z) extends to make its connection with block 7c. The other pair c and Z are similarly constructed.- This arrangement makes a' well-balanced construction which is preferable but not necessary.

The apparatus shown may be put to uses i similar to the use described, especially where it is desired to return work to a machine in a similar manner to the return of a book to a plating machine.

Many changes in detail might be made without departing from the invention disclosed, and the specific disclosure is, therefore, given for the purpose of illustrating the preferred form of apparatus and not with the intention of limiting the invention to the one'forin shown.

What we claim, is,-

l. An automatic device for feeding platers, comprising, in combination, a plunger constructed and arranged to engage material to be fed to the platers, two sets of jointed levers, each connected at one eX- tremity to a fixed point and at the other extremity to a point at the side of the center of the plunger opposite the connection of the other lever set, together with energy-absorbing devices constructed and arranged to act o n said jointed levers to yieldingly resist a backward movement of the plunger and automatically cause a forward movement thereof after each backward movement.

2. A. device for automatically feeding material to a set` of rolls, comprising, in combination, a plunger movable toward and away from the bite of the rolls, two sets of jointed levers, each connected at one eX- tremity to a fixed point and the other eX- tremity to a point at the side of the center of the plunger opposite the connection of the other Vlever set, together with energyabsorbing devices constructed and arranged to act on said jointed levers to yieldingly resist a backward movement of the plunger and automatically cause a forward movement thereof parallel to the axes of the rolls after each backward movement.

3. An automatic feeding device, comprising, in combination, a set of pressure rolls, having a table arranged to support work to be fed to the rolls, a plunger arranged lto move along the table toward and away from the bite of the rolls, two sets of jointed levers, each connected at one eX- tremity to a fixed point and at the other extremity to apoint at the side of the center of the plunger opposite the connection of the other lever set, means to support the lever set joints, above the table, energyabsorbing devices mounted on said means to yieldingly resist a backward movement of the plunger and automatically cause a forward movement thereof parallel to the axes of the rolls after each backward movement. 1l. An automatic feeding device, comprising, in combination, a plunger arranged to move back and forth, two sets of jointed lever mechanisms, each set having one eX- tremity connected to an end of the plunger opposite to the connection of the other set thereto and the other extremity adapted to be connected to a xed point, an intermediate rod supporting the joints of both sets of lever mechanisms for sliding movement thereon, springs on the intermediate rod, one bearing against each joint of the lever mechanism toV yieldingly resist its sliding movement thereon, all for the purpose described.

5. An automatic return device for a plating machine comprising a spring operated plunger, said plunger being located at the rolls and the ybook is `fed back to the rolls rear of the plating rolls on the table of said by the plunger. n machine and positioned to be engaged by JOHN I. CURLEY. the book to be plated after the 'latter has f yYViLL'lER J. PRICE.

5 passed partially through said rolls, Where- Witnesses:

by the plunger springs are compressed as F. G. NEAL, the book completes its passage through the HAnnv W. BOWEN.

Copies ot this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Coimissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G. f 

